BATS; In Awe of Kilimanjaro, but Now the Real Work Begins

By R.A. DICKEY

Published: January 8, 2012

R. A. Dickey, the Mets pitcher, is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this month to raise awareness for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization that rescues and cares for women and girls in Mumbai who are at risk of being abused and exploited. His posts will appear occasionally in Bats.

I think I know now how Bilbo Baggins must have felt in Tolkien's ''The Hobbit.'' My companions and I have set out on our own mountainous journey to try to attain a treasure.

The treasure in our case is not a pile of gold guarded by a dragon, but rather the gratification that comes with reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Instead of facing trolls and fighting goblins, we are battling steep climbs and the fatigue that accompanies seven- to eight-hour hikes. Furthermore, I'm not sure of the height of the Lonely Mountain, but I'm pretty sure I don't remember reading about Bilbo's having to worry about acclimatization and altitude sickness as he ascended the mountainside.

Our party is two days into the climb, and we have reached an altitude of 11,300 feet. We started on the Lemosho route up the western side of the mountain in the Lemosho glades at 825 feet and hiked through a mountainous rain forest with monkeys playing overhead.

Although we climbed almost 8,500 feet, the hiking on Day 1 was taxing but not terribly tough. We pulled into the Big Tree Camp around 4:30 in the afternoon. We all know the symptoms of altitude sickness, so we are constantly monitoring how we feel. I feel pretty good, although breathing is noticeably tougher.

Our guide gave us three rules when we started our trek.

The first and most important is referred to as poli, poli, which means slowly, slowly. This rule helps us acclimatize to the lack of oxygen as we ascend. The second rule is sip, sip, which is pretty self-explanatory: Drink four to five liters of water a day. The third rule is simple: have a good attitude. So far, I have been able to oblige, but it is going to get much tougher and much colder as we get closer to the top, and I can't make any promises.

On Day 2, as we disembarked from Big Tree camp to go to Shira 1 camp, I was mesmerized by the sheer efficiency of what was going on around me.

Our climbing party consists of about 18 people counting us: a main guide, an assistant guide, a cook and 12 porters. It seems like overkill at first, but when you consider the magnitude of what is required while you are on the mountain for eight days, it is indeed necessary.

These guys carry everything from our toilet to every morsel of food that we will eat on our climb, not to mention our duffel bags and tents. It is quite an undertaking, and one that is executed with incredible precision.

I marvel at how much each porter carries up the mountain at twice our speed, arriving at camp ahead of us so that everything is prepared for our arrival. Most porters are underequipped, wearing hand-me-down clothes and boots.

The hike on Day 2 proved to be incredibly arduous. We trekked seven hours out of the rain forest and into heather and moorland. It was a very steep climb as well, rising 2,400 feet to the Shira plateau. We were all getting fatigued around Hour 5 when we came around the corner of a rock outcropping, and there she was. It was the first time we had seen Kilimanjaro in all her glory, glacier fields and all.

We were all immediately energized by such an incredible sight and seemed to float the last two hours to Shira 1, basking in the mountain's shadow the whole time. The sight really was awe-inspiring. If I wasn't able to go on another step, the trip was now worth it.

We still have four more days of climbing to reach the summit, but being constantly in its presence is motivating. I still believe the most relevant danger is altitude sickness. I am taking all the precautions I can by drinking water, continuing to eat (even though my appetite is poor) and getting proper sleep, and I started Diamox, a medication that helps with altitude sickness. Even still, I am getting very mild headaches from the altitude, but the longer I'm in one place, the less frequent they are.

Tomorrow we will have only a short hike to Shira 2 camp to continue to acclimatize. After that, the real test begins. I am leaning on one of my baseball mantras: one pitch at a time. It translates on this mountain as one step at a time.

If I can continue with that mentality, I am confident I will be sharing a summit story with you in a few days.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.